Short sketches from the long history of cooperative breeding in Australian birds

The Australian avifauna is one of the most biologically important in the world. For its size, it has the highest diversity and endemism of any continent. Importantly, as a key piece of Gondwana, it was at a crossroads for the early history of modern birds (Neornithes). Indeed, it has phylogenetically deep lineages of palaeognaths, galliforms, anseriforms, caprimulgiforms, parrots, and songbirds. Moreover, patterns of endemism and diversity are well-marked and provide a natural laboratory for the study of speciation and diversification. All of this is why studies of the systematics and taxonomy of Australian birds are so important, for without a clear understanding of the taxonomic limits of taxa and their relationships we cannot hope to make progress toward answering critical evolutionary questions. Nor can we provide the systematic framework for comparative studies in the organismal sciences, especially behaviour, ecology, and conservation biology.

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Australian Bird Names

10.1071/9781486311644 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Ian Fraser ◽

Jeannie Gray

Keyword(s):

New Taxa ◽

The People ◽

Bird Watching ◽

Australian Birds ◽

History Of ◽

The Many ◽

Interesting Reading ◽

Scientific Name

This second edition of Australian Bird Names is a completely updated checklist of Australian birds and the meanings behind their common and scientific names, which may be useful, useless or downright misleading! For each species, the authors examine the many-and-varied common names and full scientific name, with derivation, translation and a guide to pronunciation. Stories behind the name are included, as well as relevant aspects of biology, conservation and history. Original descriptions, translated by the authors, have been sourced for many species. As well as being a book about names, this is a book about the history of the ever-developing understanding of birds, about the people who contributed to this understanding and, most of all, about the birds themselves. This second edition has been revised to follow current taxonomy and understanding of the relationships between families, genera and species. It contains new taxa, updated text and new vagrants and will be interesting reading for anyone with a love of birds, words or the history of Australian biology and bird-watching.

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of Current geography masks dynamic history of gene flow during speciation in northern Australian birds.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.734656438.793559707 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Ian Wang

Keyword(s):

Gene Flow ◽

Australian Birds ◽

History Of

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On the psychology of cooperation in humans and other primates: combining the natural history and experimental evidence of prosociality

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rstb.2010.0118 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 365 (1553) ◽

pp. 2723-2735 ◽

Cited By ~ 113

Author(s):

Adrian V. Jaeggi ◽

Judith M. Burkart ◽

Carel P. Van Schaik

Keyword(s):

Natural History ◽

Experimental Evidence ◽

Human Evolution ◽

Social Distance ◽

Related Species ◽

Cooperative Breeding ◽

Food Sharing ◽

History Of

In any given species, cooperation involves prosocial acts that usually return a fitness benefit to the actor. These acts are produced by a set of psychological rules, which will be similar in related species if they have a similar natural history of cooperation. Prosocial acts can be (i) reactive , i.e. in response to specific stimuli, or (ii) proactive , i.e. occur in the absence of such stimuli. We propose that reactive prosocial acts reflect sensitivity to (i) signals or signs of need and (ii) the presence and size of an audience, as modified by (iii) social distance to the partner or partners. We examine the evidence for these elements in humans and other animals, especially non-human primates, based on the natural history of cooperation, quantified in the context of food sharing, and various experimental paradigms. The comparison suggests that humans share with their closest living relatives reactive responses to signals of need, but differ in sensitivity to signs of need and cues of being watched, as well as in the presence of proactive prosociality. We discuss ultimate explanations for these derived features, in particular the adoption of cooperative breeding as well as concern for reputation and costly signalling during human evolution.

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Current geography masks dynamic history of gene flow during speciation in northern Australian birds

Molecular Ecology ◽

10.1111/mec.14978 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 28 (3) ◽

pp. 630-643 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Joshua V. Peñalba ◽

Leo Joseph ◽

Craig Moritz

Keyword(s):

Gene Flow ◽

Australian Birds ◽

History Of

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Current geography masks dynamic history of gene flow during speciation in northern Australian birds

10.1101/178475 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Joshua V. Peñalba ◽

Leo Joseph ◽

Craig Moritz

Keyword(s):

Gene Flow ◽

Geographic Distance ◽

Bird Species ◽

Northern Australia ◽

Factors Associated ◽

Bird Populations ◽

Australian Birds ◽

Maximum Range ◽

History Of ◽

Genome Divergence

AbstractDuring early stages of speciation, genome divergence is greatly influenced by gene flow. As populations diverge, geography can allow or restrict gene flow in the form of barriers. Current geography, e.g. whether sister species are allopatric or parapatric, is often used to predict the potential for gene flow during the divergence process. We test the validity of this assumption in eight meliphagoid bird species codistributed across four regions. These regions are separated by known biogeographic barriers within and between northern Australia and Papua New Guinea. We find that bird populations across the same barrier have a range of divergence levels and probability of gene flow regardless of range connectivity. Geographic distance and maximum range connectivity over time can better predict divergence and probability of gene flow than whether populations are currently allopatric or parapatric. We also find support for a nonlinear decrease of the probability of gene flow during the divergence process. This implies that although gene flow influences divergence early in speciation, other factors associated with higher divergence restrict gene flow later in speciation. Current geography may then mislead inferences regarding potential for gene flow during speciation under a complex and dynamic history of geographic and reproductive isolation.

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A neuroendocrine perspective on the origin and evolution of cooperative breeding

The Auk ◽

10.1093/ornithology/ukab036 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ahva L Potticary ◽

Renée A Duckworth

Keyword(s):

Cooperative Breeding ◽

Cooperative Behavior ◽

Breeding Behavior ◽

Origin And Evolution ◽

Fitness Effects ◽

Cooperative Strategies ◽

Wide Range ◽

Neuroendocrine Mechanisms ◽

History Of ◽

Insight Into

Abstract Cooperative breeding behavior in birds ranges from inducible to obligate strategies and has evolved across diverse taxa, in species that display a wide range of social and reproductive behavior. It is often thought to evolve when independent breeding is constrained, and cooperation increases fitness. Yet many systems show variable, even maladaptive, fitness effects. This observation, together with the wide range in the form and frequency of cooperative breeding, raises the question of how the recurrent appearance of cooperative breeding and its extensive variation across species—from inducible to obligate—can be explained. Here, we take a proximate perspective on the evolution of cooperative breeding to argue that cooperative strategies are delineated by the history of prior adaptations and emerge through the rearrangement of preexisting neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying social, dispersal, and parental behaviors. Natural selection sorts among the resultant variants to alter regulation of cooperation, producing stabilization through either greater developmental entrenchment or greater reliance on environmental cues. Thus, species showing inducible cooperative behavior may be at a transitory stage in this process. To assess this possibility, we first evaluate evidence that the components of cooperative breeding are common across taxa. Then, we review the neuroendocrine mechanisms that regulate the pathways underlying cooperative strategies. Finally, we assess the evidence for neuroendocrine linkages during development that may channel coexpression of some components of cooperative breeding and facilitate its evolution. We conclude that understanding the mechanistic bases of the behaviors comprising cooperative breeding strategies may provide novel insight into the recurrent emergence of this strategy across disparate environments and avian taxa.

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